PUNISHMENT OF THE LOST

Dear Mike:

For many years now you have been teaching and preaching God's wonderful love through your books and tapes. I would like to share with you some things I have learned.

First of all, I believe Universal Reconciliation is a true doctrine of the Word which can be proved from the Holy Bible such as 2 Pet. 3:9 where the Holy Spirit moved Peter to declare that it is not God's will for any to perish but that ALL should come to repentance. This would include all of mankind as well as the fallen angelic realm. If it is indeed God's will that this should come to pass, and the Scripture is very clear on this point, then it logically follows that a plan from eternity past, THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL, has already been set in motion and that in this last remnant of time it is being revealed through the Holy Spirit in a deeper, more profound understanding of God's Holy Word.

Paul speaks directly to this point in Eph. 1 regarding this same mystery being revealed in regard to all being reconciled to Him. This is only a very small fraction of the Biblical evidence to prove the concept of Universal Reconciliation. For those who wish to study more deeply into this subject, as I myself have, they need only write or call you for more information.

But there are other ways the Lord uses to prove this truth, which truly is Good News or Gospel. It never ceases to amaze me how most religious people are the first to reject really good news about God. But, for the sake of those who do wish to hear some really good news let me go on regarding how God is revealing the truth about Universal Restoration. For example, God at times reveals His truth through angels. I was reading a book recently about angels and their contacts with human beings. I would like to share one story with you which I believe helps us to see how God will deal with sin and sinners in the future to reconcile them back to Himself in the age to come after the millennium.

There was this young dutch woman who was captured in Java and placed in a concentration camp. She was in a state of terror and fell into utter despair. She couldn't imagine how things could be worse until she tried to feel her way to the latrine in the pitch black of night. The camp latrines were simply a plank over a deep cesspit. As she felt her way along in the darkness she lost her balance in the mud, slipped and fell into the cess pit. As she realized her predicament she lost all will to live and decided to give up and drown. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, she heard a voice in her ear asking her, "Do you believe in God?" She immediately recognized this was a voice of an angel of the Lord. So, she answered quietly to herself, "Yes, I believe." Next the voice admonished and warned her that she did not have the right not to do her best to try and get out of the cesspit. "You cannot simply drown," the voice said. "You should not think that death will be an easy way out...a solution for those things you cannot face in this world, where it is your task to deal with them, will confront you again in the future but the situation will be much more difficult."

The young woman was shocked by this statement and cried out: "Do you call this a life? This is terrible!" But there was no answer to her cry...only a lonely silence. But it was during this silence that she began to realize the true meaning of the expression, "The fear of God." It was not so much a matter of being afraid of God but an awareness of being overwhelmed by a tremendous sense of His holiness and greatness. This feeling became so all pervading and overwhelming that she no longer felt anything else, not even her sense of hopelessness. As a result of this a great desire to survive welled up within her and she grabbed the edge of the cesspit to see if she could climb out. But it was full of slime and she could no longer get a grip. Then she tried to find the bottom with her feet so she could push herself up. But there was no bottom, only slime and more slime accompanied with an overwhelming stench. Once again she was filled with despair as she realized that it would be impossible for her to climb out by herself. That was when, like Jonah of old in the belly of the whale, she cried out from her heart and soul, "Oh God, help me! I do want to get out of here and live, but I cannot." At the same time she was speaking these words she was sinking deeper and ever deeper into the stinking slime. Suddenly, she felt the finger of a hand under each elbow. She was lifted from the cesspit as though she was no heavier than a feather and laid down on the ground next to the cesspit, where she fainted.

When she came to, regaining consciousness, she wondered where she was. She looked up and saw the dark sky with a few stars above her and suddenly remembered everything quite clearly from the moment she fell into the cesspit, fell into despair, heard the voice, tried unsuccessfully to get out and then became aware of God's wonderful, overwhelming, awe inspiring holiness. She also remembered the two fingers which had lifted her out of the pit. But then she remembered something else. At the very moment she thought of the two fingers which had held her under her elbows she saw not one, but two very large angels in her mind. They were about two and half meters tall. She saw how they stood behind her and how they each placed a finger under her elbows and effortlessly lifted her to safety on solid ground. She stood up weeping and went back to the barracks where she woke up her older sister who took her immediately to the bathroom where she was scrubbed clean with water and kitchen salt.

What is the point of this story? What can we learn from it? The man who sent me this story made some comments of his own:

There is no point killing yourself to escape your sins and troubles for the time will come when you will be forced to deal with them again in the final judgment. This time it will be much more difficult. Every defect in one's character must be faced and, if you believe in Universal Reconciliation, as I do, every defect must be overcome. I would like to discuss a sermon our pastor gave in our church on the subject of the 'First Born.' The concept that formed in my mind was this: If God does have a people who are His first born, then at the very least there has to be a second born and perhaps a third, etc. So, who are the second born?

My theory is that all the saints who will be saved when Jesus comes again in our day will be God's First born sons and daughters. Actually, some already went to heaven with Jesus when He rose from the grave at His own resurrection. If you wish to call them the first fruits and all of the saints who will be saved when Jesus comes the second time the second fruits, that is fine with me. The point is, because there is a first fruits there must be a second and third, etc. But let us consider the second resurrection, at which time all of the lost of the ages will be raised to face the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. The great white throne judgment, if you please. The first thing that has always come to my mind about this judgment is this: "Why would a God of love even bring these people up, if in fact, they are already lost?" For have they not already been judged, according to our traditional belief? That is, during the 1,000 years Christ with the saints will go over the books and decide how long each person will literally burn to pay for his/her sins and Satan, the greatest sinner of all, will burn the longest. I have often wondered how this theory of the judgment makes our God, Jesus, look?

In my opinion, it makes Him look like a God who is first of all, trying to justify Himself, that is, make Himself right in the eyes of all the saved and secondly give them and the entire universe a very clear and severe warning...'obey me or else this is what could happen to you someday!' Somehow this does not sound like a very loving God to me. Besides that, why bring them up anyway if they are already lost? What is the point? For my part, I would just say to Jesus, 'Lord, let my relatives stay in the grave. They are lost and according to what you tell me they will never change their mind no matter what. I don't need any revenge...I have no desire to see and hear them scream and suffer in the final fires of hell. I wish somehow you had a plan to bring them all to repentance, but evidently you don't, so I will just have to accept that.

After a lot of prayer and meditation on this subject I no longer believe that concept of the judgment. My belief now is that at the second resurrection, when all the lost sinners are raised from the dead, each in turn will again have to deal with his/her sins but under much harder circumstances, because the mercy and goodness of God will not be as prevalent as it is now and there will be much more demonic control after the 1,000 years. Every sinner will be allowed to live out his lawless, selfish, sinful life along side of and with other very selfish, lawless, sinful human beings, some of whom are much more rebellious and worse than themselves. Satan will be the leader and have total control without the restrain of the Holy Spirit. Every sinner will be allowed to live out his/her sins under the direct control of Satan and His government to their awful sorrow and terrible suffering. Dictators and oppressors will become the oppressed. They will have to submit to evil angelic beings with Satan at their head. If they do not obey him he will really make them pay and their sufferings will be greatly increased. I believe this will be God's last demonstration to the universe of the hellish nature of sin. Thus the universe will see what life would be under the complete control of Satan and his government.

The reason there is so little goodness in this world and so little repenting is that the majority of the human family do not understand nor see the terrible consequences of their wrong doing due to the fact that in this dispensation the evil that is done is tempered with God's mercy and goodness; thus the sinner thinks he got away with it and continues on in his sin, whatever it may be, until he dies or is caught by the authorities or gets converted and accepts Jesus as His Saviour. Only then does he see how grievous His life of sin really was. But in this age almost all of that is hidden from the sinner because of God's protecting hand over His people and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

In addition, human laws now are so changeable and flexible so those in power today have become corrupt law manipulators, using the law to control and punish their enemies and to protect their allies and friends. So, almost everyone feels they can pretty much do whatever they want as long as they don't get caught. That is the only real sin in their eyes...to get caught.

But in the age to come, outside the Holy City, the supernatural powers of the rulers of darkness will be in complete control...evil angels who, themselves, are super, ultra evil beings who are hungry for power and authority and revenge. With these principalities and powers in charge no body is going to get away with anything. Punishment will be swift, sudden, long and hard with lots of suffering you cannot imagine. This is what it will take to bring the wicked to their senses. And this could go on for one hundred years according to Isaiah 65:20.

How long the sinner will suffer will be exactly proportionate to how deeply into sin he/she is and how long he/she continues to resist. Jesus spoke of some receiving "many stripes and some few stripes," Luke 12:47, 48, and of turning them over or delivering them "to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due until him." Matt. 18:21-35. Compare Luke 11:21-24 where Jesus warned Chorazin and Capernaum that in the great coming day of Judgment it would be more tolerable for the Land of Sodom than for them...in other words they will suffer more in the day of Judgment than the terrible sinners of Sodom. Amazing. And Jesus never said one thing about them being lost or suffering and/or burning in any kind of literal lake of fire. The reason why people have the wrong interpretation of the final day of judgment is they do not know God's character, His power nor what the "fire of God" really is.

Even so, in spite of all this pain and suffering in the physical the wicked must go through, the real suffering will be in their minds and conscience for they have never died to self...never been crucified with Christ. Eventually, every sinner will have to admit he was wrong. And this will be the real pain and suffering ...realizing that "sin does not pay." "Evil does not work and we never really got away with anything!" It is then and only then that they will listen to the call of Christ and those who are still seeking to invite them into the Holy City, for the gates of the city never close, Rev. 21:25. It is then that their pride will be broken and they will call upon the Lord for help and Jesus with the saints will teach them holiness and finally they will walk through the golden gates of the New Jerusalem and take their place in God's great kingdom of love forever. God's ways are good because they work...they are true and logical just like 2 + 2 = 4.

Throughout history mankind has tried out numberless solutions that never worked. They were just to proud to admit it. But the day is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess and avow that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil. 2:6-11. This will not be a faked or forced confession. No, it will be genuine. The original Greek word translated "confess" is actually closer to the word "Avow."

Personally, I'm a Christian because it works. Every other religious and secular, human government man has tried for these 6,000 years has resulted in the utter destruction of nations. Babylon, Greece, Rome, etc. All these civilizations have collapsed into the dust. Here today, gone tomorrow. But love and goodness are self perpetuation forces. And God is love. In God's kingdom everyone is always giving and at the same time everyone is always getting or receiving back for the more you give the more you receive. Everyone is affirming others and putting the needs and interests of others first, before their own. This kind of love lasts forever. It cannot fail.

Evil, on the other hand, is a corruption of goodness and cannot stand on its on merits. It can only exist in the atmosphere and presence of good; Therefore, evil is a parasite. Left to itself it will fall like a house of cards and self-destruct. It is this eternal principle of goodness vs evil that must be fully demonstrated to mankind so they can see it all clearly. God will give them all the time they need to see what it is they need to see.

Sooner or later every sinner, both man (humanity) and demon will come to this realization and come home. Because Satan is the chief of sinners he will suffer the most...the worst and the longest. But he has brought it upon himself and he must learn his lesson. He will be taken into the wilderness to die...and he will remain there until he does die to self. But there is a happy ending to it all as Paul predicts in Phil. 2:6-11 where he tells us that "Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess." How long this process will take we are not told. There is only one clue in Isa. 65:20 regarding a 100 year period. Besides that verse we only have Rev. 20 which indicates enough time will elapse for Satan to deceive all the wicked and for him to form and organize an army. So, we are talking perhaps about at least one generation or more. But looking into the future won't it be wonderful when Satan (one who is against God) once again becomes Lucifer, our elder brother. Then will be answered that burning question that all the beating hearts of all the universal intelligences have been asking for thousands of years. Can love alone turn a sinner from his way? And in answer to this question will be all his adoring redeemed angels and saved humans from the formerly rebellious planet worshipping about His mighty and eternal throne, singing together in unison of His unfathomable love and holiness. In closing, Brother Mike, I believe it is possible for there to be a second, third, fourth and fifth born, for every living thing will be spiritually born again. Yes, I believe Universal Reconciliation is true. It is true, true for me and many others. May many of your readers be willing to search it out for themselves that they may know the great joy and love that I now feel in my heart for my Heavenly Father who is far greater than we ever imagined.